Guidry, Ronald A.
Baseball
b. Aug. 28, 1950, Lafayette, LA
Guidry's solid career as a winning pitcher was distinguished by four very good seasons. The 5-foot-11, 162-pound left-hander was with the New York Yankees briefly in 1975 and 1976, then joined them as a relief pitcher at the beginning of the 1977 season. He was soon moved into the starting rotation and had a 16-7 record, then won his only World Series start 4-2 in the Yankees six-game victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He won the AL's Cy Young Award and was named male athlete of the year by the Associated Press in 1978, when he led the league in victories with a 25-3 record, in winning percentage at .893, in shutouts with 9, and in ERA with 1.74.
Guidry won the fourth and deciding game of the AL championship series 2-1 against the Kansas City Royals and won his only World Series start 5-1 over the Los Angeles Dodgers in a six-game victory.
He won his second straight ERA title with a 2.78 mark in 1979 and had a 17-10 record the following year. Arm problems began to trouble him in 1981, but he was 21-9 in 1983 and 22-6 in 1985 to lead the league in victories and winning percentage at .786. The problems recurred after that season and he went just 16-23 over the next three years before retiring.
Guidry ended with 170 wins and 91 loses, 26 shutouts, and a 3.29 ERA. He struck out 1,778 and walked 633 in 2,392 innings.